Act II/Scene II

Appearing characters (in order): Titania and her Fairies, Oberon, Lysander, Hermia, Robin (Puck), Helena, Demetrius

Plot

 * This scene starts by Titania and her elves entering the scene. After two of her elves sing songs for her, she sleeps on her bed and all the elves go to their offices.


 * Using the advantage of no elf being around Titania, Oberon enters the scene and he is easily able to drop the juice into her eyes.


 * At the same time, Lysander and Hermia are still in the woods. Lysander confesses to Hermia that he has lost their way and they need to rest.


 * Hermia doesn’t get surprised. Instead, she adapts to the situation and tells Lysander that until he finds a bed to lay on, she can sleep on a bank.


 * Lysander finds a turf and tells Hermia that it can serve as a pillow for both of them. Then, they talk about how they love each other. Lysander brings this talk to such a point that he even says “And then end life, when I end loyalty", implying that he either loves her or dies.


 * Puck enters the scene. He looks for the “Athenian man” (who is actually Lysander). Soon, he sees him (as in the lines “Night and silence: who is here?/ Weeds of Athens he doth wear: / This is he (my master said) / Despised the Athenian maid) and drops the juice into his eyes. Then he exits the scene to go to Oberon.


 * Demetrius and Helena enter the scene as they run. Helena tells Demetrius to stay with her, even though he will kill her. However, Demetrius insists on going alone and he really exits the scene.


 * After seeing Demetrius going away from her, Helena thinks that the more she chases Demetrius, the more tired and less graceful she is. She also compares herself to Hermia and thinks that she cries much more than her (which she refers to as “salty water”) and she is as ugly as a bear. But suddenly, she thinks these comparisons are foolish (as in the lines “What wicked and dissembling glass of mine, / Made me compare with Hermia’s sphery eyne?”) and sees Lysander lying on the ground.


 * Lysander wakes up and asks Helena where Demetrius is. Helena replies by saying that he loves Hermia and he should be content with this. Lysander suddenly rebuffs this and says that he now loves her instead of Hermia (as in “Not Hermia, but Helena I love;”)


 * Helena thinks that Lysander tries to joke her, so she gets angry at him, as in the lines “Is’t not enough, is’t not enough, young man, / That I did never, no nor never can, / Deserve a sweet look from Demetrius’ eye / But you must flout my insufficiency?”. The word “insufficiency” here might mean the insufficiency of Helena at finding herself a man to be together with.


 * As Helena talks angrily to Lysander, she even says that she had thought he was “a Lord of more true gentleness”.


 * Helena exits the scene. Then, Lysander approaches the sleeping Hermia and says that he will use all of his powers to be Helena’s “knight”.


 * After Lysander exits the scene, Hermia suddenly awakens by a nightmare she had seen. When she cannot see Lysander anywhere, she gets even more frightened and starts to think about the probablity of even her own death (as in “Either death or you I’ll find immediately”).